Budweiser says Miller is mean

From JSOnline:
Miller Brewing Co. is ratcheting up its attack on rival Anheuser-Busch Cos. with a new TV spot that features some of Anheuser-Busch's most famous mascots: Clydesdale horses and a Dalmatian dog. The ad, which began running this week, shows a Dalmatian on a beer wagon pulled by Clydesdales. The dog, however, jumps into the open window of Miller beer truck - presumably enticed by Miller Lite having more taste and fewer carbs than Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch responded today with full-page ads in the Journal Sentinel, USA Today and other newspapers. The newspaper ads characterize the TV spot as "negative" and say Anheuser-Busch is responding by donating money to animal rescue groups.

Ha ha ha ha. How is that a negative ad, and who cares? Most dogs I know are exclusively Bud Light drinkers. On a related note, many of those same dogs enjoy eating their own poop.

There, I said it. Drinking Bud Light is just as bad as eating your own poop.

The original Budweiser may be sold to the imposter Budweiser

The Associated Press is reporting that within a few years, Budejovicky Budvar NP — one of Europe's last state-owned breweries — may be sold.

The Czech government has kicked off a privatization process that could lead to the sale of one of the state's most prized possessions: their beloved brewery considered as much a national treasure as the premium lager it insists is the world's original Budweiser.

Czech beer lovers fear that Budvar could even wind up owned by its arch rival, U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch. For more than a century, the two companies have been locked in a bitter trademark battle for rights to the Budweiser name.

Although Budvar considers itself the maker of the original Budweiser, it has exported its lager to the U.S. under the name Czechvar since 2001 because Anheuser-Busch has firm control of the U.S. trademark on the name.

Great American Beer Fest Winners

The Great American Beer Festival is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association held at the end of September or the beginning of October in Denver. The GABF brings visitors from around the world to sample more than 1,600 different American beers. Over 100 beer judges from the US and abroad participate in the evaluations of one or more beer styles, ultimately judging 2,300 beers entered by more than 450 domestic breweries. Gold, silver and bronze medals in 69 beer-style categories are awarded, though not every medal is awarded in each category.

The 2007 GABF was this weekend. Here are the winning beers from Wisconsin:

Fruit Beer or Vegetable Beer - 94 Entries
Gold: Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., Chippewa Falls, WI
Silver: The Great Pumpkin, Elysian Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Bronze: Raspberry Tart, New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus, WI

Herb and Spice Beer - 58 Entries
Gold: Summertime 69, Gunnison Brewery, Gunnison, CO
Silver: Sigda’s Green Chili, CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing Co., Fort Collins,CO
Bronze: Frederick Miller Classic Chocolate Lager, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI

Gluten Free Beer - 8 Entries
Gold: RedBridge, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., St. Louis, MO
Silver: New Grist, Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Shakparo Ale, Sprecher Brewing Co., Glendale, WI

I didn't realize that Sprecher made a gluten free beer. That is a definite Lakefront copycat rip-off. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but is Milwaukee a big enough town for TWO gluten free microbrews?

American Style Lager - 33 Entries
Gold: Hamm’s, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: McHenry Lager, Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MA

American Style Specialty Lager - 16 Entries
Gold: Icehouse, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Mickey’s Ice, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Mickey’s Malt Liquor, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI

Whoo-hoo! A Miller sweep. Too bad I don't like any of those beers.

European Style Dark/Münchner Dunkel - 18 Entries
Gold: Dunkelstilsken, CB & Pott’s Restaurant & Brewery (Highlands Ranch),
Silver: Capital Munich Dark, Capital Brewery Co., Inc., Middleton, WI
Bronze: Munich Dunkel, Redrock Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT

American-Style Dark Lager - 12 Entries
Gold: Roadrunner Red Lager, Thunder Canyon Brewery, Tucson, AZ
Silver: Henry Weinhard’s Classic Dark, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Elevator Dark Horse, Elevator Brewing Co., Columbus, OH

Baltic-Style Porter - 13 Entries
Gold: Killer Kowalski, Flossmoor Station Brewing Co., Flossmoor, IL
Silver: Foothills Baltic Porter, Foothills Brewing, Winston-Salem, NC
Bronze: Amnesia, The Grumpy Troll Restaurant & Brewery, Mount Horeb, WI


The entire list of categories and winners is here: http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf/pdf/gabf07_winners.pdf


Update: The eight medals Miller won at the Brewers Association's annual Great American Beer Festival were more than any other beer brewer that took part in the competition.

Since 1996, Miller has won 113 awards between both the Great American Beer Festival and the bi-annual World Beer Cup, more than any other large brewer, according to the company.

Pilsner turns 165

In 1842 a 29-year-old lager brewer from Bavaria, Josef Groll, was named master brewer of Mestansky Pivovar (Citizens' Brewery) in the city of Plzen, located in the western half of the Czech Republic in what was formerly Czechoslovakia and, before that, part of the kingdom of Bohemia. It's about an hour's drive from Prague.

Using lager yeast from Germany and a pale malt, Groll created a new clear golden beer, with a unique clean taste.

The brewery first sold the clear lager in October of 1842. The beer acquired the name Pilsner Urquell (urquell is German for "original source"), in honor of the language of the ruling Austrian Empire.

Though certainly distinctive, Pilsner Urquell was not first beer to be lagered. Germans had been brewing lagers since the 1400s, when their method of storing beer in the cool caves of the Bavarian mountains inadvertently introduced lager yeast, which thrived at the low temperatures. These Bavarian lagers were mostly dark beers, however, and any light-colored ales that were available were probably cloudy.

Word of the clear Pilsner Urquell quickly spread through Europe, and in 1859 the brewery made "Pilsener Beer" a registered trademark. The beer was first exported to America in 1871.

In 1898, following numerous breaches of the Pilsener trademark by imitators, the brewery took further precautions by also trademarking the name "Pilsner Urquell".

To celebrate Pilsner's birthday, drink a Pilsner Urquell on October 5. Or drink one of the hundred American imitators.

Interestingly, Anheuser-Busch applied for trademark of the Budweiser name in 1907, even though Czechs had long known of "Budweiser" as the beer from the Czech city of Czeske Budejovice, or "Budweiss" in German.

Anheuser-Busch's Michelob brand is also named for a Czech town, Michelovice.

Anheuser-Busch's right to sell beers in Europe and Asia under the Budweiser trademark is being disputed in the courts.

Michelob Gloats

Last month I said I thought it was ridiculous that Michelob won the top three light beer spots in a Consumer Reports taste test - see Consumer Reports rates light beers (and hot dogs) entry.

Now I see Michelob is gloating with new internet ads. Best in the world? This is crazy. Their beer is BAD. Look what have you done, Consumer Reports!

Consumer Reports rates light beers (and hot dogs)

Last weekend I was reading a recent Consumer Reports magazine that reviewed hot dogs and light beers. I enjoy a good hot dog from time to time, and I was interested to see their rankings.

Hebrew National won the blind taste test for best-tasting hot dog. I've never had a Hebrew National hot dog before, although I never shy away from kosher foods. If I had a choice between a kosher dill pickle and one that's not kosher (meaning that it probably fell on the floor since it wasn't prepared under rabbinical supervision), I'd take the kosher!

I've now come to understand that a kosher dill pickle is usually not kosher in the sense that it was prepared under rabbinical supervision, which would ensure that no utensil in contact with the pickles had been in contact with food that was not kosher. Rather, it is a pickle made in the traditional manner of Jewish New York City pickle makers with generous addition of garlic to the brine. But that's not my point here.

I respect Consumer Reports and I think that the hot dog test is good one. But then I read the light beer article. The light beer results are oh so wrong!

The big "winners" of the test were as follows:

1. Michelob Ultra Amber
2. Michelob Light
3. Michelob Ultra
4. Coors Light

I've tasted a Michelob Ultra before and it's a perfect choice for people who don't like beer. It basically tastes like water with some sugar and artificial beer flavoring. It's definitely in the bottom 10 beers I've ever had (and I've had pizza beer brewed with garlic cloves and oregano). Beer Advocate even gives it a 96% disapproval rating. It's quite bad.

I've also tasted Coors Light and basically rank it below every beer starting with the letters BUD (and that's a bad thing).

Sam Adams Light was 5th on the list and I agree that it should be up there somewhere. That's the one shining star of their rankings. Miller Lite finished 11th and despite the fact that Miller's own blind tests showed Miller Lite has more taste, Bud Light finished 8th. There were also bunch of other bad beers that finished in the top 10 like Keystone Light, Busch Light, and Natural Light. But those are cheap, light beers and everyone knows what they are getting to when they buy them. Michelob pretends they are a premium drink.

Supposedly the Consumer Reports taste testers focused on "whether a beer tasted fresh and had a balanced mix of floral, fruity, malted grain, hops and other appropriate flavors." I guess I agree that Michelob Ultra tastes fresh - just like water!

I guess I don't like light beer in general, but if I had to drink one it certainly wouldn't be anything made by Michelob (thus by Anheuser-Busch).

Do yourself a favor - skip all the Consumer Reports light beers and have a local craft beer instead. If you're worried about the calories, have one less beer.